Genesis Preview & Predictions

Genesis, TNA’s first pay-per-view of 2011, comes to us live this Sunday from the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida. A new #1 contender to the TNA World Championship will be decided and Immortal’s quest to gather all of the gold in TNA will come to a head in three title matches. The Knockouts Championship will also be on the line and Kurt Angle will make his return to the ring.

Matt Morgan vs. Mr. Anderson (#1 Contender to TNA World Championship)
Eric Bischoff granted Matt Morgan another chance at the TNA World Championship by taking on Mr. Anderson in a #1 contenders match. Morgan has gone against the idea due to Anderson’s concussion, but Anderson himself has stated that he has been cleared to wrestle and will do what he has to do because he is a wrestler. Morgan warned Anderson of the consequences but said that once the bell rings he will do what he has to do to earn another shot at the title.

I have enjoyed the non-traditional build up to this match which addressed a serious and legit problem with Anderson’s health and well being. This wasn’t your typical “I’m going to beat you because I hate you” setup, so it was a refreshing change of pace. Added to that is the fact that I feel that 2011 will be the year for these two stars to hold the TNA World Championship, which makes this match hard to predict. Seeing as Morgan has just had a few title matches with Jeff Hardy and Anderson has yet to get his hands on him for the chair shot that put him on the shelf, I will have to say Anderson picks up the win here.

Starman’s Prediction: Mr. Anderson to become the #1 contender to the TNA World Championship.

Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett (Double J Double M A Challenge)
Jeff Jarrett created an open challenge to showcase his MMA skills and to give a person a shot at $100,000. Most of Jarrett’s opponents have been fans from the audience, but after a run-in with Amazing Red’s much larger younger brother, Jarrett modified the rules to people who are of the same height and making the contest an exhibition. This opened the door for Kurt Angle’s return and he signed a waiver to be Jarrett’s next opponent.

Due to this contest being an exhibition, Angle will not go back on his promise not to wrestle again. Jarrett will most likely try to skirt around actually grappling with Angle and Jarrett’s team will be in his corner to give their assistance, but I feel that Angle will win this match either by submission or by disqualification. This will cause Jarrett to allow Angle to go back on his promise and wrestle once again to continue their feud.

Rob Van Dam vs. TBA
Rob Van Dam has waited months to get his hands on Jeff Hardy, which has turned into his sole focus. Immortal has put many people in RVD’s way, including Rob Terry and Robbie E., but none of them have taken RVD off his course. Jeff Hardy then told RVD that he would get a chance to get his hands on him if he passed a test at Genesis and this match against a mystery opponent was made.

RVD tried to get the name of the mystery opponent from Eric Bischoff but he offered no clues except that the person will kill him. That could point to someone like Abyss, who recently turned RVD into a bloody mess, but having RVD go up against Abyss would be a disappointment. Even worse would be another match against Rob Terry. Rumors are going around saying that Matt Hardy could be the mystery opponent, which would be a logical mystery opponent and could turn into a decent match.

Since the opponent hasn’t been officially named, I reserve the right to make a prediction.

The Motorcity Machine Guns vs. Beer Money (TNA Tag Team Championship)
Beer Money defeated Ink Inc. last month at Final Resolution to earn a shot at the TNA Tag Team Championship. This set up another match between Beer Money and the Motorcity Machine Guns. There is a ton of history between these two teams and I expect to see yet another great match between two of the best tag teams in wrestling today.

I am having conflicting feelings on this match. On one hand, I love watching these two teams go at it and they always bring out the best in each other. On the other side of things, though, it seems that these two teams have wrestled so much that it has that “been there, done that” feel to it. Seeing that there is a big disparity between these two teams and the rest of the teams in the division, I guess this is the best route to go. In the end, the Machine Guns reign as the Tag Team Champs will come to an end with Immortal adding more gold to their group.

Starman’s Prediction: Beer Money to begin their fourth reign as the TNA Tag Team Champions.

Madison Rayne vs. Mickie James (TNA Knockouts Championship)
Upon her arrival in TNA, Mickie James clearly stated that she had her sights on the TNA Knockouts Championship. Mickie became the #1 contender to the title back in November by defeating Angelina Love in a match on Impact, but got sidetracked in a feud with Madison Rayne’s sidekick and bodyguard, Tara. With Tara being put on the shelf with an injury, Mickie is finally getting her shot at the Knockouts Championship against Madison.

I feel that this match will be the starting point of a lengthy feud between Madison and Mickie over the Knockouts Championship. Madison will find a way to retain the title in this match and Mickie will continue on her quest for the title, probably falling short until she can get her hands on Madison inside a steel cage match at Lockdown.

Bully Ray vs. Brother Devon
Brother Ray attacked his life-long partner, Brother Devon, shortly after Team 3D wrestled in their retirement match at Turning Point. Since then Ray has changed his name to Bully Ray and criticized Devon for being the weak link of the group. Devon has chased after Ray, and while their paths have crossed a few times, Devon hasn’t had a chance to fully get his hands on Ray. These two former partners will now go at it in this grudge match.

There has been a lot of time between Turning Point and Genesis to set this match up to be meaningful, but it still seems like a rushed throwaway match. It needs a spark to get things moving and I am hoping that this match does it. Usually I would side with the heel in the first match of what seems to be a long feud, but I think Devon will go over here, but Ray will get in the last word and keep this feud going.

Jay Lethal vs. Kazarian (TNA X Division Championship)
Kazarian won a 4-way match on Impact to become the #1 contender to the X Division Championship. This put Kazarian in line to take on Jay Lethal for the title and push Immortal closer to gathering all of the championships in TNA. To help Kazarian in his match, Eric Bischoff booked Jay Lethal in a tune up match against Abyss this past Thursday night on Impact.

Lethal has the odds stacked against him in this match as Immortal will be in Kazarian’s corner. I have little faith in Lethal retaining the X Division Championship in this one as Immortal gets one step closer to their goal.

Douglas Williams vs. AJ Styles (TNA Television Championship)
Douglas Williams surprisingly defeated AJ Styles, with the Styles Clash nonetheless, at Final Resolution to win the Television Championship. Eric Bischoff publicly called out and humiliated Styles for losing the title and this is his shot to redeem himself in the eyes of Bischoff and Immortal. A win for Styles would also give Immortal more power as they hold more of the gold.

I could see Immortal walking out of Genesis holding every title in TNA, save for the Knockouts titles, and completing their quest to hold all of the power. If there is one match, though, where they come up short, it will be this one. Styles has been losing his spot in Immortal by racking up a series of losses in the ring, and this match could prove to be the one that costs him his spot in the group. I sense that Williams will win this match and cause just that.

Starman’s Prediction: Douglas Williams to retain the TNA Television Championship.

That wraps it up for my Genesis preview and predictions. Eric Bischoff said that he wanted everyone to have five-star matches with no gimmicks and no tricks, but it has to be seen first to be believed. I will give them credit for having eight straight up matches on this card after enduring gimmick match after gimmick match last month at Final Resolution.

Is TNA turning the page? I guess we’ll have to wait for that answer, and while this card is lacking in high stakes matches, there are a few of them that could more than make up for it. These matches include the Motorcity Machine Guns vs. Beer Money, Douglas Williams against AJ Styles and Matt Morgan taking on Mr. Anderson. Jay Lethal against Kazarian and Kurt Angle going up against Jeff Jarrett could also put on a good show with great matches. This could be optimist thinking, but Genesis could start TNA on the right foot for the new year.

As always, live coverage of Turning Point will take place on Gerweck.net starting at 8PM EST.